A peculiar life
by Child.Heart.Forever
Summary: (This is an AU!) What if Jake was older when his grandfather was attacked by hollows and he went to find Miss Peregrine? What if he had a sister who was also a peculiar? (Based off of the movie since I have't read enough of the books)
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE RIGHTS TO MPHFPC! THE ONLY CHARACTER THAT I DO OWN IS LOTTIE PORTMAN, NONE OF THE OTHERS ARE MINE!**

Chapter 1:

"Jake?"

"What?"

"Look I know you feel bad about grandpa but-"

"-Lottie I get it" he sighed "But I wonder if he'd still be alive if I'd got here sooner…"

"And done what?" Demanded his sister "thrown rocks at the thing?"

Jake frowned

"There was nothing we could have done…but maybe we should let that peculiar woman know, the one grandpa told us about. She should know that hollows are heading this way, right?"

"I guess…"

"She'd want to protect her loop from them and…"

"What…"

"Did you see anyone? When you found grandpa, I mean"

"Just some guy standing at the side of the road" shrugged Jake

"So nothing odd about him? No white eyes?"

Jake blinked at her "You think there might be wights-?"

"-The hollows would be travelling with them, right? Because the wights would be tracking down loops for the hollows to get the eyes of peculiar children"

She looked worried. She'd always believed their grandfather's stories, even when he hadn't, she'd even made him believe in them again when she'd showed him a postcard from Cairnholm island in Wales that she found addressed to their grandfather from Miss Peregrine. But that was a few years ago.

"He did say to go to her…" said Jake, thoughtfully

"I could get the week off" suggested Lottie "you?"

"I think I have a bit of vacation time left" He sighed "But we'd have to book our flights, transport when we get there, somewhere to stay, money for food-"

"How about I sort out the details and you just look for any info you can on Miss Peregrine that'll help us find her loop once we get to Wales, okay?"

Jake smiled, liking the idea of not have to book a single thing "sure"

After a few minutes of rummaging through drawers Lottie spoke up.

"Should we let her know we're coming before we go or just-?"

"- we don't know how to even get mail to her since she's in a different time period, we'll just show up and if she wants us gone we'll just enjoy our week in the UK and come home"

Lottie sighed "I guess so…"

 **And there you have the first chapter! I don't know when the next chapter will be up as I publish chapters as I write them (So updates could range from a few days to a few months depending on how busy I am)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Quick AN: The chapters will get longer as the story goes on but for now it's a bit of a slow start so that I don't overdo it. SO enough with my whining of unimportant author problems and we'll get into chapter 2 now, I'm sure that at least a few of you are wondering what exactly Lottie's peculiarity is...  
**

 **DISCLAIMER: *looks at self in mirror* Still not Ransom Riggs so I still don't own MPHFPC...BUT Lottie Portman is MINE!**

* * *

Chapter 2:

His sister had been quiet ever since they'd arrived in England. Jake had thought, or more hoped, that the night they'd spent in a hotel in Bristol might have made her feel better before they had to continue on their journey down into Wales. Unusually, she still hadn't said a word by the time they'd boarded the ferry to Cairnholm.

"How're you feeling, sis?" He asked

"Nervous…" murmured Lottie

"Nervous? About what?"

"We're meeting the people from grandpa's stories, doesn't that make you a little nervous?"

"I guess…" shrugged Jake, closing the lid of his laptop

"And that's staying off while we're here" snapped Lottie "You agreed not to bring it anyway!"

"But Adam wants that dumb report on our stocks on his desk when I get back or-"

"-Well tell him to stuff it!" Yelled Lottie "You hate your boss, you hate your job; just QUIT!"

"I wish it were that simple" huffed Jake

There was a few moments of silence before he spoke again "So who're you nervous about meeting?" He asked

"You first" she said

"Maybe Enoch" said Jake "He always seemed like he could be a bit cold towards people if he wanted to"

"Oh…"

"You?"

"Don't laugh"

"I won't, just tell me"

"Miss Peregrine…"

"Why? Grandpa always said she was amazing"

"I dunno…I guess the thought of meeting another Ymbryne is just a little-"

"-shoulda guessed…sorry"

"Don't be…I mean you're probably right. I'm sure she's just as nice as grandpa told us she is"

The siblings got off the ferry and Lottie pulled out her phone to look at the map while Jake lugged their cases off.

"Oh…apparently it's that old looking pub…"

"What?"

"Where we'll be staying"

"Well we could ask" suggested Jake

The two walked in and Jake waited while his sister walked up to the bar. After a minute or two she gestured him to follow her up the stairs, a key in her hands.

"So it is here?"

"Yeah, not what I was expecting"

"I'll say…" Lottie grinned "and guess what?"

"What?"

She flung the door open and walked in, turning to grin at her brother with her arms thrown up in celebration "NO wifi!"

"You're KIDDING me! I need-!"

"-No you don't! That stupid job of yours can wait until we're back home"

Jake sighed "fine but we should at least call mum and dad to let them know that we're-"

"-different time zone, Jake. They'll still be asleep"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll call them later"

Jake sighed "fine but we could at least go and find the orphanage"

"Grandpa said it was destroyed in the war, at least for everyone outside of the loop it was" Said Lottie "Didn't you pay attention?"

"Then we'll find the loop" suggested Jake, trying to hide his mistake

"What, now?"

"Fine we'll rest a bit first"

"I just want to unpack a few things, lay down for an hour then we'll go" said Lottie

"Yeah, while you do that" Jake pulled the power supply for his laptop out of his suitcase and plugged it in "I'll be getting on with my-"

"-No you won't!" Snapped Lottie, snatching the laptop off his bed before locking it in her own suitcase "You can have it back later but if I catch you using it I'll throw it in the sea!"

"Fine" sighed Jake "I'll just lay here then…"

"So you'll be sulking"

"Not sulking!" Snapped Jake

Lottie smirked and turned her attention back to unpacking her suitcase "Sulking…" she muttered, sniggering to herself

Jake rolled his eyes and set an alarm on his phone before he turned his back to Lottie, deciding he might as well get an hour's rest before they headed out.

As he began to drift off to sleep his sister's earlier worry found its way into his thoughts. What WERE the peculiars going to be like?

* * *

 **Thanks for reading this far already and I'll see you all in chapter 3 (When I've finished writing it that is!) where we'll see Jake and Lottie meet the peculiars for the first time!**

 **Okay bye now!**


	3. Chapter 3

**And I'm back with another chapter for you all and it's time for the Portmans to meet Miss Peregrine! Now, I wonder what the reaction to Lottie's peculiarity will be... DISCLAIMER: My name is still not Ransom Riggs so I don't own MPHFPC or any of the characters featured in this story...except for Lottie Portman!  
**

* * *

Chapter 3:

The two siblings had gotten directions to the old ruins of the orphanage as Jake had insisted on seeing it outside the loop first.

"Plus, what if someone's waiting there in case we show up?"

"What every day?"

"They live in a loop" shrugged Jake "so nothing ever changes for them, it could be just part of their day"

"What? Wait to see if Abraham Portman's grandkids show up?"

"Maybe they were expecting Grandpa to visit before he died…it'll be tough to tell them…"

"They probably know already" suggested Lottie "Miss Peregrine is apparently really smart"

"Yeah, to a kid" chuckled Jake "She could just be a normal person"

"You mean normal apart from the whole manipulating time and turning into a bird thing, right?"

"Well…yeah"

Lottie sighed and leaned back against a tree "this what you wanted to see?" She asked

Jake caught up to her and looked out across the overgrown grounds of the old orphanage. Some of the building had survived but it was heavily damaged with parts of the roofing and walls missing.

"Look at Fiona's greenhouse…" whispered Lottie

There was only a metal structure left, the glass that had once formed the roof had been shattered long ago and all that filled the room now was rubble, much like the rest of the house.

"There's no way anyone would have survived that"

"I know"

Lottie reluctantly followed her brother into the ruins of the house, not wanting to think how much of a tragic end that day could have been for Miss Peregrine had she not been an Ymbryne. There was an old clock, not unlike the one that their grandfather used to have sitting over the fireplace when they were children, laying on the floor. It's glass was surprisingly intact but it would probably never work again if you wound it up.

"What was it that did this again? A storm?"

"German bomb, September 3rd 1943" said Lottie, brushing the dust off of the clock face to look at it properly.

"The same day the loop is set to?"

"That's probably why she created the loop, to save their lives and their home"

Jake was making his way upstairs, wanting to see if any of the children's rooms or belongings had survived.

"Hey come back!" Yelled Lottie "Its not safe up there!"

"Sis you're being a downer, just like when we were kids!"

"I don't want you dead, okay?!" She called, hesitantly making her way after him.

She almost jumped back when Jake showed her a jar with a decomposed body in it "Enoch's room wasn't too badly damaged"

"Put that down!" Snapped Lottie

"Abe?"

The two siblings spun around to see a girl standing in the corridor at the bottom of the stairs.

"Emma?"

"It is you then, right?" Asked Emma

"What?"

"Abe why are you-?"

"-Oh! No I'm not Abe, I'm his grandson Jacob!"

"And I'm his granddaughter Charlotte"

"Oh…sorry you just looked like him for a moment there and I was expecting him to-"

"-It's okay" said Jake "We came to meet you all anyway"

"Could you show us to the loop please?"

Emma nodded and showed the two siblings out of the ruins and down a dirt path.

"Miss Peregrine said she saw someone on the ferry earlier but couldn't tell who it was"

"Yeah that was us" Said Lottie "We landed at Heathrow, that's an airport just outside of London, yesterday"

"Oh I see, where is it you two live?"

"Florida" Replied Jake "Well, for now anyway. But Charlotte's moving to…where again?"

"Cincinnati" replied Lottie "it's in Ohio" She sniggered slightly "He has no idea where he wants to go"

"It's not that!" Snapped Jake "I'm just, y'know, keeping my options open…"

"Mhm, yeah, sure…"

"Are you two like this all the time?" Asked Emma

"Whenever she comes round"

"Because you've been renting the same apartment since you first moved out of mum and dad's place!"

"It's a working progress…" Shrugged Jake

Lottie rolled her eyes and smiled at Emma "He's completely useless" she laughed "Even our grandfather's asked him what in the world he thinks he's doing with his life"

Emma laughed as she led the way through a cleverly concealed cave at the edge of the beach. "It's just through here, Miss Peregrine would probably want to meet you both straight away"

"Sure thing…"

Lottie and Jake followed Emma through the cave and found themselves back where they'd started, except it was a lot brighter and sunnier than it had been a few moments ago.

"So is this the loop?" Asked Lottie

"That's right. Miss Peregrine will be glad that she doesn't have to explain anything to you about that"

"What's she like?" Asked Lottie

Jake spoke up when Emma shot his sister a confused look "She's a bit nervous about meeting her" he said, deciding not to mention that it was because the woman shared Lottie's peculiarity.

"Oh, don't be!" Smiled Emma "She's really-!"

The door behind them opened suddenly and a woman with dark blue tinted hair stood in the doorway.

She looked down at her pocket watch, holding a pipe between her teeth. She looked up at the three standing by the door and smiled, taking the pipe from her mouth

"Right on time"

Jake was about to ask her what she meant when she held out her hand to him, still smiling.

"Alma Peregrine, delighted to meet you both"

Jake just stood there, staring blankly at her. Without missing a beat, Lottie stepped forwards and took Miss Peregrine's hand.

"Charlotte Portman" she said

"Abe's granddaughter, yes I've heard a lot about you over the years" smiled Miss Peregrine "Now, Do you prefer to be called Charlotte or Lottie? Or don't you mind?"

Lottie laughed "Nobody's called me Charlotte in years"

"So, it's Lottie then"

Lottie smiled and turned to her brother, clearing her throat "Jake, go on" she muttered "Say something"

Jake suddenly stuck out his hand "Jacob Portman" he said quickly

Lottie face palmed while Miss Peregrine looked slightly surprised at his abruptness.

She noticed his hand was shaking slightly and smiled at him "You don't need to be nervous, Jake" she said kindly as she took hold of his hand "I've heard a lot about you too so it's wonderful to finally meet you"

Jake just stood there, seemingly unaware that time was still passing in the loop.

"Jake you can…let go of my hand now…"

Jake realised he was still tightly holding onto the ymbryne's hand and quickly let go, stuffing both his hands into his pockets. Lottie didn't know whether to laugh at her brother or feel sorry for him. She decided not to say anything while they were led to the kitchen for tea.

A girl with red hair entered the kitchen and, after receiving a nod from Miss Peregrine, took off her gloves and placed her hands on either side of the kettle.

"I have to admit I didn't recognise you two when I opened the door, it's been so long since your grandfather had last sent me a photo of you both"

"How old were we in the last photo?" Asked Lottie

Miss Peregrine started biting on her nails while she thought "I'd say you both looked to be about eight or nine…" she smiled "But I could be wrong"

Lottie smiled at her.

"That's enough, thank you, Olive" smiled Miss Peregrine

The girl removed her hands from the kettle and put her gloves back on before pouring boiling water into three cups.

"Thank you" said Lottie

Olive smiled and left the three alone to talk.

"So how have you been, I assume you both have jobs and homes of your own by now"

"Yes, in fact I'm considering moving away from the family. A chance to explore, the uk might not be a bad option actually"

"Well that depends on the location and time period that you're considering, there's many different loops you could choose from if you didn't want to live in the modern day. But as far as that goes I can't really tell you much"

Lottie smiled and stirred sugar into her tea "well, it's an option"

"And you, Jake?"

Jake, who'd been trying to hide behind his teacup to avoid conversation, almost choked "Yeah it's…urr…it's going good…I-"

"-What he means is that our parents more or less pay his taxes for him because he can't afford them, he hates his job, he doesn't get paid fairly and he's been renting the same grotty apartment for years because he's broke"

Jake glared at his sister "Thanks for that"

Lottie shrugged, raising her cup to her lips "Well you weren't going to tell her the truth"

"Subject change!" Yelled Jake "let's just get to why we came here in the first place, okay?"

"He's angry at me now" whispered Lottie with a smirk

"So why are you here? I'm sure I'm not so lucky that this is just a casual visit"

"Hollows" Said Jake "We think they're trying to find your loop, they attacked our grandfather and took his eyes"

"We think they were looking for information on how to find you"

"Did they get it?" Asked Miss Peregrine

"No, we have it with us"

"It's how we found you"

Miss Peregrine sighed "I'm sorry for your loss" she said "I, of course, have known your grandfather since his childhood…he will be missed deeply by everyone that lives here"

"We thought we could help in case they do find you" said Lottie "Because Jake can see them"

"You can?" She asked

"Yeah…my grandpa told me that it was his peculiarity too"

"And you don't share that peculiarity I assume?"

"No" replied Lottie

Jake kicked his sister under the table. She glared at him, he shot her a look that said 'tell her or I will'

"So what is-"

"-I'm an Ymbryne"

Miss Peregrine stared at her "I-I'm sorry…you're what?"

"I'm an ymbryne" repeated Lottie "My avian form is a Red Kite"

"You…you should have come to me when you first discovered this, I could have contacted Miss Avocet who would have gladly offered you guidance in the ymbryne ways"

Lottie shook her head "That wasn't necessary, I was fully capable of handling it on my own"

"She used to cry like a baby when she failed to transform"

"Shut up!" Snapped Lottie "it actually hurt!"

"That I don't doubt" Said Miss Peregrine "it's always extremely painful when you're first learning to transform"

"She repeated her sixteenth birthday three times over before she abandoned the loop"

Miss Peregrine shook her head slightly "a very immature use of your powers, Lottie"

"I know" she chuckled "But it had to be done"

"No…I don't think it did, sis…" smirked Jake

"I must say I have to agree with Jake on this matter" Said Miss Peregrine "There was really no need to create a loop for something as unimportant as a birthday"

Lottie frowned "yeah I guess it was kind of stupid…"

"Other than that you've been fine with it though, Sis"

She huffed, crossing her arms "That's because I never doubted that Grandpa's stories were real" She shot back

"And I think we'll end that conversation there" Cut in Miss Peregrine before a full blown argument could break out between the Portman siblings.

The two had seemed to catch on to the Ymbryne's discomfort and quickly apologised.

"So, anyway..." She started in a clear voice "Tell me what you've found out so far about these hollows"

* * *

 **Hmm...I wonder how dinner with the rest of the peculiars will go for the Portman siblings...**


End file.
